EAGAN, Minn. — A Big Ol' Border Battle is on the way, featuring two high-achieving squads in Week 17.

This will be the 129^th overall meeting between the Vikings (13-2) and Packers (11-4) as the 2024 NFL regular season reaches its penultimate weekend.

Minnesota has already clinched a playoff berth for the second time in three season under Head Coach Kevin O'Connell but still has a shot at the No. 1 seed in the NFC Playoffs.

The Vikings have won their past eight games and tied for the fourth-longest win streak in franchise history, matching a run of eight games in 1998 and 2017. The team is trying to close the season by matching the run of nine by the 1973 squad that went to Super Bowl VIII and 10 by the 1975 team that was upset in the Divisional Round on Drew Pearson's Pushoff. The 1969 Vikings hold the all-time record within one season, responding with 12 consecutive victories after dropping the season opener.

The Packers have clinched a playoff berth for the fifth time in six seasons under Head Coach Matt LaFleur, whose 67 regular-season wins rank second all-time behind 75 by George Seifert through the first six seasons of a coach's career.

Green Bay can't win the division but it can throw a monkey wrench into Minnesota's path. A Packers win would put the Vikings in a place where they need the 49ers to upset the Lions on Monday Night Football and then win at Detroit. A Vikings win would make MNF irrelevant to whether the Vikings or Lions win the NFC North.

Kickoff is 3:25 p.m. (CT), and the game will air nationally on FOX.

Vikings Uniform

The Vikings will wear their modern home uniform combo of purple jerseys and white pants.

4 Storylines

1. Postseason feel

Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores sensed a "postseason feel" in the win at Seattle.

That atmosphere – described by Flores as electric – definitely will carry into this week's Border Battle, which puts pressure on the Vikings to compose 60-plus more minutes of gritty, competitive execution.

"[They're] really talented across the board, especially offensively. So got our work cut out for us," Flores said. "It'll be a major, major challenge this week, but we'll be at U.S. Bank [Stadium]. I know it'll be loud."

If Minnesota wins its final two regular-season games, it'll match its franchise-record of 15 wins in 1998.

The more you know: Last week was the fifth Vikings game in 2024 decided by three or fewer points (4-1) and moved the team to 8-1 in one-possession games (second best to Kansas City, 11-0). It also boosted O'Connell's record in such games to 25-9, good for the second-highest winning percentage (.735) in NFL history behind Pro Football Hall of Famer Guy Chamberlin (minimum 25 games).

2. Talking tackling

Josh Jacobs has scored 12 of his 13 rushing touchdowns since Week 8.

In that span, he's averaged 84.5 rushing yards on about 20 carries per game. He's also contributed at least 35 yards receiving in four of his past six, which is four more instances than compiled in Games 1-9.

We'll lead with that and then ask: What's the top challenge that this Packers offense presents?

"It's the running back," Flores said. "I think Jacobs is one of the best in the league."

Flores assured that Minnesota's defense has done well at tackling, but, "Josh Jacobs makes me feel like we have to talk about tackling." Entering Week 17 action, Jacobs has forced the second-most missed tackles according to Pro Football Focus (64), tied with Derrick Henry and behind only James Conner (67).

Jacobs' 3.42 yards after contact per rush is the No. 4 mark among RBs with 200-plus attempts per PFF. Furthermore, 48.6% of his rushes have gained more yards than expected as outlined by Next Gen Stats.

"This is going to be a total-team-defense game," Flores emphasized.

Although the Vikings played without key run defender Ivan Pace, Jr., in Week 4, they were able to assuage Jacobs' influence by jumping out to a 28-0 lead at Lambeau Field. That deficit resulted in only four second-half rushes for Jacobs (and a season-low nine total). Boom. There's one winning formula.

Note: Pace was designated to return from Injured Reserve on Tuesday and could play Sunday.

3. Ho! Ho! Hot! quarterbacks

Sam Darnold and Jordan Love are dealing right now.

Both players are on six-game streaks with one or more passing touchdowns since Nov. 17. In that timeframe, they're top three in passer rating at 113.6 and 113.8 – each behind Jared Goff's 120.3 mark (say again, how stacked is the NFC North?) – and own 15:1 and 9:1 touchdown-to-interception splits.

One big similarity over their past six is success stretching the field as Love and Darnold are first and third in yards per attempt (9.2 and 8.2). A notable difference is their general protection; Love has been sacked on four instances in that span whereas Darnold has taken 19 sacks – second most to Caleb Williams' 22.

Overall, Love has been incredibly difficult this year to get on the ground. His 2.79 sack percentage is lowest in the league, and a colossal improvement from 2023 when he was dropped 4.93% of the time.

Darnold hasn't stayed upright as often, enduring a sack on 8.89% of dropbacks. He's one of three QBs to be sacked four or more times in six-plus games this season. Love has zero such games on his 2024 ledger.

4. Takeaway machines

Minnesota and Green Bay are two of the NFL's top defenses at forcing turnovers.

The Vikings are the lone club with a takeaway in every game so far, and rank second with 30 total takeaways and first in interceptions with 22. Green Bay is tied for third with 28 takeaways via 15 picks and 13 fumble recoveries.

In the Week 4 meeting, cornerback Byron Murphy, Jr., snatched two takeaways from the cookie jar, intercepting Love and causing a fumble with a Peanut punch – doing both in the final seven minutes. Packers safety Xavier McKinney also took one away, defusing a red-zone drive by picking off Darnold near the goal line. Both are premier ballhawks, with seven turnovers apiece and 23 combined pass breakups.

Behind Murphy, the Vikings have six others with at least two interceptions – Camryn Bynum has three, and Andrew Van Ginkel, Harrison Smith, Joshua Metellus, Shaq Griffin and Kamu Grugier-Hill have two.

3 Things 'Bout the Packers

1. Defensive weapons

McKinney hardly is the only player with influence on the Packers defense.

First-round picks Rashan Gary, Devonte Wyatt and Lukas Van Ness are responsible for 14.5 sacks. Rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper has emerged as a playmaker, with an interception, forced fumble and two sacks in his past five appearances. The secondary features veterans Jaire Alexander and Keisean Nixon, and linebacker Quay Walker brings an eyebrow-raising blend of athleticism and physicality to the heart of the unit.

"He looks about 7-feet tall standing in there," Vikings Offensive Coordinator Wes Phillips quipped.

Walker, by the way, missed the MNF game against New Orleans and was listed as DNP due to an ankle issue on Green Bay's injury report Wednesday. But if he plays Sunday, he's someone capable of greatly impacting Minnesota's run and pass game plans. In Week 4, he registered one sack and eight tackles.

2. On the tight ends

Tucker Kraft belongs in the "top tight end" conversation.

The 2023 third-round draft pick out of South Dakota State leads Packers players with seven touchdown receptions, third most among NFL tight ends, and ranks second at his position with 14.0 yards per catch (min. 50 targets). In Week 4, Kraft was the second-most targeted Packer and finished with a 6-53-1 line.

Green Bay recently got deeper at the position, too.

Luke Musgrave, selected a round earlier than Kraft in the same draft, last week returned to the lineup on Monday Night Football for the first time since suffering an ankle injury against the Vikings that required surgery. Musgrave nabbed three passes in the Week 4 matchup, and he tallied 50-plus yards three times as a rookie.

Their involvement might be drawn into focus if receiver Christian Watson, who exited with a knee injury (later described by LaFleur as a knee bruise) in the second quarter of the 34-0 win over New Orleans, is unable to play Sunday. Kraft and Musgrave are long, strong, and dangerously athletic.

3. 30-point streak

Here's Green Bay's points for in its past five games: 34, 30, 31, 30, 38.

That five-game streak with 30-plus points scored represents the second-longest tear in the NFL this year, behind Buffalo's eight-gamer from Oct. 20-Dec. 15. In fact, it's the second streak of its kind and the only active one, and it's actually quite rare – it's the fifth iteration across the NFL since 2022 of 30-plus in five games in a row.

Green Bay's defense has kept up with its offense throughout those five games, limiting opponents to an average of 14.8 points. In three of the five, the Packers have permitted fewer than 200 net passing yards, and in four of the five they've allowed 80 or fewer rushing yards. Detroit is really the one outlier game.

On Thursday Night Football in Week 14, the Lions survived the Packers 34-31 and generated 280 passing yards and 111 on the ground. That divisional clash also signaled the lone instance in Green Bay's past five – and the second occasion all season – where it finished with fewer than 300 yards of offense.

2 Vikings to Track

Sam Darnold: The QB enters Week 17 with career highs of 3,776 passing yards and 32 touchdowns. Those numbers position him for some unique achievements within Vikings history. With 224 more yards, he'll become the fifth player (ninth instance) of a QB passing for 4,000 yards in a season. With two more touchdown tosses, he'll pass Brett Favre (33 in 2009) for the most in a QB's first season with Minnesota. Daunte Culpepper's 4,717 yards and 39 touchdowns in 2004 are the single-season franchise records.

Aaron Jones, Sr.: Jones will be making his 101^st career start and second against the team that drafted him. The September matchup was quite a homecoming, with Jones rushing 22 times for 93 yards and tying a season high with 46 receiving yards on four catches. Jones needs 14 rushing yards to become the 69^th player in NFL history with 7,000 career rushing yards, and he needs 76 rushing yards to set a new single-season career high (would top 1,121 in 2022).

1 Key Matchup

Vikings secondary vs. Packers WR Jayden Reed

Green Bay's biggest big-play threat is due.

Jayden Reed tortured the backend of Minnesota's defense in Week 4, catching seven passes for 139 yards (19.9 avg.) and a touchdown; three of his receptions gained 20-plus yards, and one went for 42.

But in his past six games, Reed has been relatively quiet – save for scoring twice against Miami in Week 13. He's averaged 30.5 yards receiving on 2.7 catches per game. So, yeah, that leads us to think he's due.

On the season, Reed is tied for sixth among pass-catchers with 11 receptions when targeted at least 20 yards down the field. (For perspective, Vikings stars Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison have 13 and 11.) Reed's 11 grabs on "deep" targets have averaged 40.6 yards and 31.93 yards per route run, and totaled 100 yards after the catch per PFF.

In Minnesota's win at Lambeau Field earlier this year, Reed routinely settled in zone-coverage holes, and on Green Bay's first touchdown beat Murphy mano a mano with a hesitation-and-go route from the slot.

Reed seemingly unleashes his best against the Vikings, too.

In three career games against Minnesota, the 2023 second-rounder (Jalen "Speedy" Nailor's teammate at Michigan State, by the way) has plated 17 catches on 22 targets for 311 yards and three touchdowns.